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Good News Africa
QUOTE OF THE DAY
A Paraprosdokian: “Going to church/mosque doesn’t make you Religious, any more than standing in a garage makes you a car”
HIGHLIGHTS
Somalia asks UN to end political mission
Benin blocks Niger oil exports
Israel deports Malawi workers who abandoned Israeli farms
Algeria’s leader demands justice over French colonial-era wrongdoing.
TOP NEWS
Eastern Africa
East DRC’s struggles with conflict, humanitarian crisis
Relief as Kenya state, doctors sign deal to end 56-day strike
Kenya declares public holiday to mourn flood victims
Floods cutoff Kenya, South Sudan highway
In surprise move, Somalia asks UN to end political mission
UNHCR: 1.3m South Sudanese refugees returned home since 2018
Sudan; Burhan – “No talks and ceasefire until RSF defeated”
West Africa
Benin blocks Niger oil exports over border dispute
EU to close Mali military training mission
Nigeria’s powerful ex-minister charged with corruption
Microsoft to shut Africa development centre in Nigeria
Sex for grades: Nigerian students turn to recordings for protection
Boeing plane goes off runway in Senegal, leaving at least 10 injured
Togo eliminates presidential elections
Southern Africa
Israel deports Malawi workers who abandoned Israeli farms
Hope fades for 44 trapped in collapsed South African building
Opposition alliance says it can win South African election
SAfrica’s Ramaphosa calls opposition flag-burning ad ‘treasonous’
SAfrica wins legal row over shipwreck silver
North Africa
Algeria’s leader demands justice over French colonial-era wrongdoing
Tunisia detains a prominent activist for migrants’ rights
North African football fans use stadium freedoms to back Palestinians
AFRICA GENERAL
(21) GOOD NEWS STORIES ABOUT AFRICAN NEWS, MUSIC, AND FILM
UN RELATED NEWS
AFRICA RELATED BOOKS & PUBLICATIONS
VIDEO (S) OF THE DAY
PODCAST OF THE DAY
(13) ARTICLES ON ANALYSIS, EDITORIAL & OPINION
EASTERN AFRICA
DR CONGO
East DRC’s struggles with conflict, humanitarian crisis
North Kivu Province, the epicenter of hostilities located in eastern DRC, is grappling with a “worrisome” and “unpredictable” situation, warned the military governor of the province, Peter Chirimwami…fighting has been ongoing between the DRC military and multiple armed groups for years, leading to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. According to Chirimwami, M23 rebels has been advancing and strengthening its frontlines, particularly since February, in the southern part of the province. Additionally, the province is facing a resurgence of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), rebels affiliated with the Islamic State group in the north…With the main roads between Goma and its surroundings cut off by the M23, the city, home to about two million people, has seen its population increase over several months due to the wave of displaced persons, and is now on the brink of suffocation. According to a report in February 2024 by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), the fighting threatens to isolate Goma and compromise humanitarian aid to millions of people.
KENYA/SOUTH SUDAN
Floods cutoff Kenya, South Sudan highway
The Kitale–Lodwar–Juba highway has been completely cut-off thereby hurting the region’s economy and frustrating business between Kenya and South Sudan. The road which was cut off road at Lous in West Pokot last Sunday following a heavy downpour is the only major highway linking Kenya and southern South Sudan and has cut off traders operating between the two countries. Many traders use the road to transport fresh produce, an assortment of food items, and construction materials, among other goods. The situation has stalled truck drivers and motorists for days now, with the business community operating the highway now decrying its current state and urging the Kenyan government to speed up rehabilitation. Vehicular traffic is at a standstill, on both sides of the highway. Many traders have resorted to using the Uganda route through Mbale, Lira-Gulu, and Kabong to South Sudan. The situation has seen a food shortage hit Turkana County, more so in the Turkwel area.
KENYA
Relief as Kenya state, doctors sign deal to end 56-day strike
The Kenyan government and doctors’ union officials on Wednesday signed a return-to-work formula in Nairobi, effectively ending a 56-day nationwide strike. Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists Dentists Union (KMPDU) officials are expected to give directions to medics on when to resume work. Speaking during the signing that was televised live, KMPDU Secretary General Dr Davji Atellah thanked everyone involved in the process. However, the doctors’ union noted that while they have inked the deal with government, the parties are yet to agree on the intern doctors’ issue. “As we sign, we will continue as we had not agreed on the intern issue and they will not be posted within 60 days as we continue with the talks,” Dr Atellah said. On her part, Health Cabinet Secretary Susan Nakhumicha said the government side was glad the strike is over.
Kenya declares public holiday to mourn flood victims
President William Ruto has declared Friday a public holiday to mourn the 238 people who have died due to ongoing flooding. Kenya, along with other parts of East Africa, have been overwhelmed by floods. More than 235,000 people are displaced and living in dozens of camps. Ruto also announced the reopening of schools countrywide, after two weeks delay due to heavy rains that have destroyed hundreds of schools. The government had said more than 1,000 schools were affected by the heavy rains and flooding and set aside funds for renovations. The metrology department in its daily weather forecast has continued to predict moderate to heavy rainfall in most parts of the country.The government is in the process of forceful ly evacuating people living in flood prone areas and those near rivers and dams…the government bulldozed houses in informal settlements of Mathare and Mukuru in the capital Nairobi and the president promised evicted families the equivalent of $75 to relocate after a deadline passed to evacuate amid deadly rains.
SOMALIA
In surprise move, Somalia asks UN to end political mission
Somalia’s government has requested the termination of a UN political mission that has advised it on peace-building, security reforms and democracy for over a decade, according to a letter the foreign minister wrote to the Security Council. The request for the departure of the 360-member United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) when its mandate expires in October took the mission by surprise, three UN officials reported, asking not to be named. In the face of continuous conflict since 1991, including a two-decade insurgency by Al Qaeda-linked militants, Somali authorities have taken steps to restore services and provide a measure of security. But the Horn of Africa nation of 17 million people remains among the world’s most violent and impoverished. The end of the political mission is separate to a UN-mandated African Union safe-keeping mission, currently comprising at least 10,000 soldiers, which is due to withdraw and hand over to the Somali state by the end of this year. In the letter, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Moalin Fiqi did not give reasons, saying only that the government believes “it is now appropriate to transition to the next phase of our partnership”.
SUDAN
No talks and ceasefire until RSF defeated, Sudan army head Burhan says
Chairman of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan on Wednesday said there would be no negotiations or ceasefire until the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is defeated. Al-Burhan, also the general commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces (Saf), made the remarks when addressing an army force in the River Nile state in northern Sudan, the sovereign council said in a statement. “There will be no negotiations, no peace, and no ceasefire except after defeating this rebellion… so this country can live in peace,” Al-Burhan said…A slew of peace initiatives have been put forward to end the armed conflict in Sudan, including by the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad), Saudi Arabia, and the US, but all have so far failed. Since the conflict between the Saf and the RSF broke out on April 15, 2023, around 15,000 fatalities have been recorded, while the number of people displaced inside and outside of Sudan has reached 8.2 million…
SOUTH SUDAN
1.3m South Sudanese refugees returned home since 2018, UNHCR says
Some 1.33 million South Sudanese refugees have spontaneously returned home since the signing of a revitalized peace agreement in October 2018 to March 31, 2024, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said. The return of 45,429 South Sudanese was verified and reported in March, 12 percent more than in February, the UNHCR said in its latest update released in Juba, the capital of South Sudan. It attributed the increase to insecurity in the country of asylum, especially in Sudan, food insecurity, including the reduction of a food ration, and a lack of employment and livelihood opportunities. According to the UNHCR, the majority of the March returnees came from Sudan and Ethiopia. As of March 31, the UNHCR reported 2.2 million South Sudanese refugees in the region, which includes Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic.
WEST AFRICA
BENIN/NIGER
Benin blocks Niger oil exports over border dispute
Benin has blocked exports of oil from Niger via its port, President Patrice Talon said on Wednesday, demanding junta-led Niger reopen its border to Beninois goods and normalise relations before crude shipments can restart. The move jeopardises landlocked Niger’s plan to start exports from its Agadem oilfield under a memorandum of understanding signed last month with Chinese state-owned oil giant China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) worth $400 million. Trade flows in the region were expected to normalise after the West African regional bloc lifted in February strict sanctions on Niger as it sought to dissuade it and junta-led neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso from withdrawing from the political and economic union. But Niger has kept its borders closed to goods from Benin and not formally told Benin why it has done so, Talon said in a statement. “If you want to load your oil … in our waters, then you should not see Benin as an enemy,” he said.
MALI
EU to close Mali military training mission
The European Union said on Wednesday it would end its military training mission in Mali, reflecting a deterioration in relations between the bloc and the West African country’s military junta. The mission will end when its current mandate expires on May 18 this year, the EU’s diplomatic service said in a statement. For 11 years, the mission trained Malian armed forces and members of the G5 Sahel, a multinational counter-terrorism force, the statement added. The EU suspended the mission in 2022 after the junta said it was pulling out of the G5 Sahel. The EU said it had decided not to extend the mission’s mandate following a strategic review and consultations with the Malian authorities, also taking into account the “evolution of the political and security situation on the ground”.
NIGERIA
Powerful ex-minister charged with corruption
A former minister of aviation in Nigeria, Hadi Sirika, has appeared in court on corruption charges, along with his daughter and son-in-law. Mr Sirika was regarded as one of the most powerful ministers in former President Muhammadu Buhari’s government. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has accused him of using his position to give undue advantage to a company linked to his daughter and son-in-law. The three pleaded not guilty to all six charges at the High Court in the federal capital, Abuja, and were released on bail. The prosecution alleged that in August 2022, Mr Sirika awarded a contract to a company linked to his daughter and her husband to build an extension at the airport in the northern city of Katsina. The 60-year-old is also accused of giving the couple, Fatima Hadi Sirika and Jalal Sule Hamma, consultancy roles in the failed effort to get a national carrier, Nigerian Air, off the ground. After hearing the arguments of both legal teams, the judge set it at 100 million naira ($70,000; £56,000) each. The three are also barred from going abroad. The case is due to resume on 10 June. Mr Sirika is the second high-profile official from the former government to be charged with corruption. Ex-central bank governor Godwin Emefiele is facing more than 20 charges, including illegally receiving about $6.2m.
Microsoft to shut Africa development centre in Nigeria
Microsoft is closing down its Africa Development Centre in the continent’s most populous nation Nigeria, which will lead to job losses, a spokesperson said on Wednesday. The centre, based in the commercial capital Lagos, was opened in 2022 as part of Microsoft’s push to deliver high-end engineering and innovation solutions for the company. The company said it would, however, continue to operate in Nigeria, continuing to prioritise and invest in strategic growth areas. In December 2022, Microsoft President Brad Smith said Africa represented a burgeoning talent pool in contrast to declining population growth elsewhere. Microsoft at that time had more than 200 engineers in Lagos and more than 500 in Nairobi, Kenya.
Sex-for-grades: Students turn to recordings for protection
On 22 April, the embers of a perennial issue were fanned as another alleged case of sex-for-grades was exposed. A video post on the platform X (formerly Twitter) shows a young woman receiving unwanted sexual advances from a man. The video, taken covertly from outside the window of the presumed lecturer’s office, shows the student is visibly disturbed as the man persists in drawing her towards him, touching her indecently and speaking inaudibly into her ears. On the same day the video of the Uniport lecturer surfaced, another came to light, this time from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN). The lecturer concerned was caught on film in his underwear. Despite many advancements in Nigeria’s education system, “sex-for-grades” seems a prevalent practice and a tale as old as time. A 2023 study ‘Sex for Grades in Nigerian Higher Institutions’, revealed that about half of respondents said they had been victims of sexual harassment in school, with about 20.8% saying they were victims of lecturers making grades dependent on sexual favours. However, as smartphone rapid proliferation continues among Africa’s youth population, students are taking matters into their own hands.
SENEGAL
Boeing plane goes off runway in Senegal, leaving at least 10 injured
At least 10 people, including the pilot, were injured when a Boeing passenger plane overran the runway while aborting takeoff from Senegal’s international airport in the outskirts of Dakar on Thursday, the country’s transport minister said. Air Senegal Flight HC301, which is operated by Transair, was carrying 79 passengers, two pilots and four cabin crew on an early morning flight from Blaise Diagne International Airport to Bamako, Mali, when it went off the runway, Malick Ndiaye, the minister of infrastructure and land and air transport, said in a statement posted on social media. Emergency services were deployed to evacuate the passengers, and those who were injured were receiving medical care, Mr. Ndiaye said.
Video: Passengers escaping the burning plane
TOGO
President signs a new constitution that eliminates presidential elections
Togo’s president has signed a new constitution eliminating presidential elections, his office said, a move that opponents say will allow him to extend his family’s six-decade rule. Civil society groups in the West African nation have called for protests. Parliament will now choose the president. The new constitution comes days after the election commission on Saturday announced that President Faure Gnassingbe’s ruling party had won a majority of parliament seats. There was a crackdown on civic and media freedoms ahead of the vote. The government banned protests against the proposed new constitution and arrested opposition figures. The electoral commission banned the Catholic Church from deploying election observers. Togo’s media regulator suspended the accreditation process for foreign journalists…political opposition, religious leaders and civil society say it’s likely that Gnassingbe will stay in power when his mandate expires in 2025.
SOUTHERN AFRICA
MALAWI
Israel deports Malawi workers who abandoned Israeli farm
Twelve Malawians have been deported from Israel after leaving the farms where they were working, to get higher salaries elsewhere. The 12 Malawians were among more than 40 foreign workers who were arrested while working at a bakery in Tel Aviv last week. The workers, who were part of a labour agreement between Israel and Malawi, were unhappy with working conditions in the agricultural sector and found work in a bakery instead. Last week, Benzani, a Malawian working in Israel, said that some of his compatriots working on other farms were being paid less than the minimum wage in Israel. “The minimum wage in Israel is 32 shekels ($8.60; £6.85) an hour, but some of us are being paid 18 to 20 shekels an hour.” Benzani said many of them had signed contracts which said they would receive $1,500 a month. Benzani is not one of those who were deported. Those deported were part of a labour drive by the Israeli government last year to fill a shortage of agricultural workers following October’s deadly attacks on Israel by Hamas. More than 200 Malawians went to Israel, while Kenya agreed to send 1,500 workers. The announcement of the deal sparked mixed reactions in Kenya, with some concerned about their safety.
SOUTH AFRICA
Hope fades for 44 trapped in collapsed South African building
Relatives of 44 construction workers trapped under a collapsed building in the South African city of George faced a fourth day of anguished waiting on Thursday as heavy machinery worked at the site in a race against time to find any survivors. Of 81 people who were on site when the five-storey private residential building collapsed on Monday, eight have been confirmed dead and 29 alive, 16 of them in a critical condition, according to the latest figures from George municipality. “A number of families… (are) waiting, not knowing what has happened with their children, with their husbands, their uncles,” Thulas Nxesi, South Africa’s employment and labour minister, told reporters on site. Nxesi said the government would conduct its own investigation. The cause of the collapse is yet to be established. “We still hope and pray that we can get people out alive,” Anton Bredell, a Western Cape provincial minister, said.
Opposition alliance says it can win South African election
An alliance of South African opposition parties can win a May 29 election and would bring significant change after 30 years of African National Congress (ANC) government, the chairperson of the talks that led to the alliance being formed said on Wednesday. The Multi-Party Charter (MPC) has 11 member parties who have agreed on broad policy priorities including a commitment to a free market economy, and whose ambition is to dislodge the ANC in the most unpredictable election of the post-apartheid era. Polls suggest the ANC will lose its majority while remaining the largest party, opening the possibility of a coalition government. “This is our first election that will go to the wire,” William Gumede, who chaired the 2023 convention that resulted in the MPC, said in an interview. The MPC policies include adherence to the constitution and the rule of law for all, free market economics, using private sector firms to deliver services, and a commitment to social justice paired with welfare reform that would tie certain benefits to participation in skills training, Gumede said. The most prominent parties in the group include the Democratic Alliance (DA), which won the second largest share of the vote in the last election five years ago, and ActionSA, led by a respected former mayor of Johannesburg, Herman Mashaba. Others include the socially conservative Inkatha Freedom Party, which draws its support mostly from Zulus, and Freedom Front Plus, which represents the interests of the white Afrikaner community. The ANC has not publicly acknowledged it could lose its majority or said who it would pick as a coalition partner. For Gumede and member parties of the MPC, the worst-case scenario would be a coalition between the ANC and one or both of two smaller left-wing parties, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and uMkhonte we Sizwe (MK).
Ramaphosa calls opposition flag-burning ad ‘treasonous’
President Cyril Ramaphosa described as “treasonous” a campaign ad by an opposition party that depicts a burning national flag, as antagonism between political parties rose three weeks before an election. The campaign ad released on Monday by the Democratic Alliance uses the burning flag as a metaphor for what it says is the grave risk of the ruling African National Congress retaining power in a coalition with left-ing parties. “I think it is treasonous,” Ramaphosa told reporters during a visit to Limpopo province. “It is the most despicable political act that anyone can embark upon,” he said, accusing the DA of desecrating a symbol of national unity. The business-friendly DA won the second largest share of the vote in the last election five years ago. This year’s May 29 election is hotly contested, with polls suggesting the ANC will lose its majority for the first time since it came to power 30 years ago at the end of apartheid. The ad shows a flag slowly burning as a voice warns of a disastrous alliance between the ANC, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and those aligned with former President Jacob Zuma. An intact flag then unrolls from the ashes of the burnt one as the slogan “Unite to rescue South Africa, vote DA” appears. “We picked the flag as the clearest symbol of the dream we shared 30 years ago, at the dawn of democracy under President Nelson Mandela. The flames show how his vision has been ravaged by 30 years of ANC rule,” wrote Helen Zille, a former DA leader and chairperson of the party’s federal council, in an opinion column.
SAfrica wins legal row over shipwreck silver
A company owned by GB News investor Sir Paul Marshall has lost a legal battle with South Africa over £34m ($42m) worth of salvaged silver. The ship, SS Tilawa, was torpedoed by Japan in November 1942 as it travelled to east Africa from India during the height of the global conflict. More than 950 passengers were travelling on board the ship when it was targeted, with 280 people being killed. The silver was sold by the government of India to be turned into coins for South Africa and Egypt. Over 70 years later Argentum – which takes advantage of improvements in technology to explore previously inaccessible wrecks – found the ship 2.5km (4 miles) below the surface and spent six months retrieving the silver. South Africa claimed ownership of the silver, but Argentum said that as the salvor, it is entitled to claim payment for the salvage. Maritime law allows salvors to make payment claims, regardless of whether the owner of the property asked for it to be salvaged or not. In this case, South Africa did not ask for Argentum to retrieve the silver. Both the UK Court of Appeal and High Court ruled in favour of Argentum’s claim, despite South Africa claiming immunity as a sovereign state. South Africa then took the case to the Supreme Court arguing…the silver was not being used for commercial use, which the Supreme Court unanimously agreed with. This decision from the Supreme Court means that South Africa is immune from Argentums claim against the silver.
NORTH AFRICA
ALGERIA
Algeria’s leader demands justice over French colonial-era wrongdoing
While France celebrated the anniversary of victory over the Nazis on Wednesday, Algeria commemorated a more somber anniversary: The crackdown by French colonial forces on Algerian independence activists the same day 79 years ago. Both events took place on May 8, 1945. In Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron lay a wreath Wednesday at the eternal flame beneath the Napoleon-era Arc de Triomphe, honoring those killed fighting the Nazis and marking the end of WW2 in Europe. At the time of the war, Algeria was the crown jewel in France’s colonial empire, and Algerian soldiers were among those sent to fight for France in Europe. The end of World War II unleashed independence movements across the former French and British empires. In Algiers on Wednesday, ceremonies were being held to honor demonstrators who took to the streets in the towns of Guelma, Sétif and Kherrata to call for freedom from French rule. “On this day we are remembering the massacres of May 8, 1945, committed by the colonizer with extreme brutality and cruelty, to repress a growing national activist movement that had resulted in massive demonstrations expressing the revolt of the Algerian people and its aspiration to freedom and emancipation,’’ Algerian President Abdelmadjiid Tebboune said in a statement. Algeria and France today have close economic, security and energy ties, but the question of historical justice remains a sore spot. Tebboune is expected to raise it on a trip to France later this year. The issue of historical memory ‘’will remain at the center of our concerns until it enjoys an objective treatment that pays justice to historical truth,’’ Tebboune said in his statement this week.
North African football fans use stadium freedoms to back Palestinians
In North Africa, where political speech is often harshly policed, football stadiums have long been an exception. Now, fans are using that small freedom to express solidarity for the Palestinians amid the Gaza war. As early as October 8 — the day after Hamas launched an attack on Israel that sparked the war — supporters of Raja Club Athletic in Casablanca revived an old chant. “You for whom my heart is saddened,” goes the song which spread throughout the Arab world. “Our tears have been flowing for years. Palestine, my beloved, the Arabs are asleep. You, the most beautiful country, must resist.” In Algiers, dramatic choreographed fan displays, known as tifos, depicted giant figures in the traditional keffiyeh scarf associated with the Palestinian cause and calls for a “free Palestine”. There have also been vows to “avenge the (Palestinian) children” as well as support for the “resistance fighters in the heart of the tunnels” — a reference to Hamas’s tunnels under Gaza. Throughout the region, political dissent in football stadiums takes place against a backdrop of repression and a lack of freedom of assembly and expression, according to human rights groups, which only worsened following the Arab Spring.
TUNISIA
Prominent activist for migrants’ rights is detained
Tunisia’s public prosecutor on Tuesday detained Saadia Mosbah, a prominent activist and head of a nongovernmental group that defends the rights of migrants, human rights groups said, hours after President Kais Saied accused some groups that defend Sub-Saharan migrants of treason. Tunisia has been grappling with a severe migration crisis due to an influx of Sub-Saharan Africans seeking to migrate to Europe in boats. Local media reported that the police began investigating Mosbah, whose group combats racism and defends migrants’ rights, on suspicion of financial crimes. Residents of the southern town of El Amra demonstrated in favor of deporting migrants last weekend, saying the situation had become unbearable. Saied said during a meeting of the National Security Council on Monday that the migrant situation raised questions about who was really behind it. “This situation cannot continue and Tunisia will not be a land for the settlement of migrants,” he said. He added that many officials who run civil society groups defending migrants’ rights were “traitors” who receive funds from abroad. Local media said that following Saied’s speech, the judiciary began investigating some groups helping migrants in a move critics say aims to silence them.
AFRICA – GENERAL NEWS
Critical workforce shortage worsens public health emergencies in Africa
A critical shortage of health workforce in Africa has exacerbated the impacts of recurrent public health emergencies on the continent, the head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has said. While Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for approximately 24 percent of the global disease burden, it is home to only 3 percent of the world’s health workers, said Jean Kaseya, director-general of Africa CDC, at the May 6-8 Africa Health Workforce Investment Forum, now underway in Windhoek, capital of Namibia, according to an Africa CDC statement. In the year 2023 alone, the African continent recorded 166 disease outbreaks, a trend likely to persist in 2024, the Africa CDC said. The shortage of health workers in Africa is projected to reach about 6.1 million by 2030, the statement said. Kaseya urged African countries to join forces toward realising the 2017 African Union decision that called for rapid recruitment, training and deployment of 2 million institutionalized community health workers by 2030.
Streaming giant Netflix sees Africa as rich source of unique stories
Online streaming giant Netflix says it is investing in Africa to help new talent emerge and to tell stories that make an impact locally but also resonate with audiences abroad. Well-crafted local stories are “a major opportunity”, said Netflix’s Africa and Middle East content vice president Ben Amadasun, on the sidelines of the Forbes Under 30 Summit Africa in the Botswanan capital Gaborone this week.Increased investment in local content creation by international players is key for local industries to flourish, he said. People in and from Africa “deserve to see themselves, their lives, their cultures, their languages and their countries reflected on screen”, he added. If the production is loved locally, it has a better chance of global success, Amadasun said. Netflix has bet on diversifying its production in recent years, with series such as Spanish hit “Money Heist” and the South Korean dystopian drama “Squid Game”. South Africa’s “Blood and Water” also enjoyed major global success as the first show from the country to reach number one in the United States. Netflix announced last year that it planned to expand operations on the continent.
GOOD NEWS AFRICA
Patch to protect against measles in children shows promise
A vaccine patch could be a safe and effective alternative way to protect young children against measles, a trial in The Gambia suggests. The device – the size of a sticking plaster – is easier to transport and store than standard injections, especially in remote areas. Measles is a very contagious disease which is common in children, and can kill. Protecting vulnerable children worldwide is a priority, experts say. Despite the existence of a very effective measles jab, falling vaccination levels since the Covid pandemic have left millions of children unprotected, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. But now, scientists hope microneedle-patch technology can put vaccinations back on track with 95% of children immunised. The microarray patch sticks to the arm and lots of microscopic needles deliver the vaccine through the skin, with no pain.
Mushroom farming flourishes in Rwanda
Demand for mushrooms is booming in Africa. Mushroom farming is low-cost and sustainable – and mushrooms are seen as a nutritious meat alternative. Mushroom farming in Rwanda presents a compelling narrative, especially given the unique agricultural landscape of the country. Laurent Demuynck, CEO of Kigali Farms promotes with his company eco-friendly mushroom farming in Rwanda. The practice of cultivating mushrooms is sustainable, requires minimal land, and avoids harmful chemicals. Kigali Farms trains farmers and provides them with free mushroom huts and ongoing support to ensure sustainability. The company collaborates with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fonerwa, the green fund, to advance climate action in Rwanda. Kigali Farms also produces spices and dried mushrooms and is experimenting with mycelium packaging boxes.
The surfer chef behind South Africa’s first fine dining halal restaurant
Anwar Abdullatief creates stunning halal food infused with Cape Malay flavours and seasoned with attitude. The 40-year-old is now the owner of The Happy Uncles, South Africa’s first fine dining halal restaurant, and Barakat, a popular contemporary Cape Malay eatery in Cape Town’s new Time Out Market. Last year, he scooped the Rising Star prize at South Africa’s premier restaurant awards. It is a significant accomplishment considering he had finished with restaurants two years ago.
Lagos’s Unapologetic Museum
The John Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History is set to open its doors to the public this autumn, and it’s anything but your typical, stuffy museum experience. Located in the cultural heart of Lagos, the centre is a celebration of Yoruba heritage, complete with colourful displays, lively soundscapes, and even a swimming pool (more on that later). As lead architect Seun Oduwole puts it, this museum is “unapologetically Yoruba,” eschewing the dark, dreary African sections often found in the basements of Western museums. Curator and academic Will Rea adds, “It is very different to a European museum, you walk in a soundscape and it’s noisy, it’s performative, you have to move your body the whole time.” In other words, this isn’t your grandparents’ museum – unless your grandparents are fans of interactive exhibits and Afrobeat music. The centre’s exterior is a nod to traditional Yoruba settlements, with earth-colorued pigments and gold lattice showcasing the craftsmanship of the Yoruba people.
Three Africans Among Recipients of Global Citizen Prize 2024
The prize honors individuals who have championed and elevated their communities’ most vulnerable, with a dedicated award ceremony happening during the Global Citizen NOW summit, scheduled for next month.
How This Ghanaian American Entrepreneur is Connecting Africans in the U.S. Through Food
When Jamila Zomah found it difficult to order food online from her favorite African restaurants while on maternity leave, she decided to solve that issue for herself, and other Africans living in the U.S. Now, ‘African Dishout’ has over 200 restaurants representing a range of African countries — Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Liberia — and has done over 150,000 deliveries in and out of New York and the Bronx.
The Eritrean Toy Maker Who Wants Black Children to Feel Seen
Not wanting other Black children to experience the world like she did as a child, Sabelle Beraki, born and raised in Stockholm, Sweden, decided to do something to bring them representation and joy. For her cousin’s birthday in 2022, the 19-year old wanted to get her a doll that looked like her — with curly hair, and brown skin. “But there was no such thing. This was once more a reminder of Beraki’s childhood…That was when she decided to start Bell’s Toys, to fill the gap and make Black toys for children.
Then came more than a decade of hiding bruises from a disapproving family, sneaking out the window for sparring sessions, and pretending to be elsewhere while going off to compete.
Pelumi Nubi Just Drove Solo From London to Lagos and She’s Already Planning Her Next Trip
The British Nigerian travel content creator arrived in Lagos over the weekend, making her the first Black woman to drive from London to Lagos on her own. Nubi journeyed by day and slept in her car by night, covering 10,000 kilometers (over 6,200 miles) over a stretch of two months in a purple Peugeot 107. She survived a terrifying accident in Ivory Coast that damaged her car but still didn’t deter her from achieving her goal.
The African Women Braving the Odds in Game Development
Three game developers share the thrills, challenges, and growth strategies for African women in the male-dominated industry. The global gaming market, which boomed during the lockdown brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, is worth $245 billion, and is projected to reach $545.98 billion by 2028. While these statistics can look good on paper, they often fail to translate to an African market that is still developing, with many countries still lagging behind due to factors related to access — infrastructure, institutional support, audience development, and eventual buy-in. Still, mobile gaming is big in key markets like South Africa, Nigeria, and Ethiopia.
What It’s Like To…Be A Water Polo Instructor in Ghana
In Africa, water polo hasn’t always been a trendy sport. Unlike football (which has over 260 million African fans), basketball, track and field or even rugby, water polo and other swimming-related sports rank low on the list of preferred sports. Even in countries surrounded by water, water polo struggles to grow as a competitive sport. At the moment, only two countries on the continent, South Africa and Egypt, have competed in water polo tournaments at the Olympics. Former water polo player Asante Sefa-Boakye is, however, redefining the state of the sport in his home country of Ghana. He wants to build a formidable national water polo team for Ghana, while showing his students an avenue for better opportunities.
What’s Driving West Africans’ Recent Guinness World Record Attempts?
Ever since Nigerian chef Hilda Baci (real name Hilda Effiong Bassey) broke the Guinness World Record in 2023 for the longest cooking marathon at 93 hours, (she was unseated in November by Irish chef Alan Fisher at 119 hours, 57 minutes), the rise of Guinness World Record attempts has gripped many parts of the African continent. In Ghana alone, 355 submissionswere made to the Guinness World Record body by January 2024, while in Nigeria the body says it recorded about 1,572 applications by July 2023, shortly after Baci’s successful attempt. One such application involved a man who attempted to sing for 200 hours and another who took on a crying challenge.
How Nollywood is Teaching the World About the Igbo Apprenticeship System
Áfàméfùnà: An Nwa Boi Story and Freemen have contextualized a system that’s been described by Harvard Business Review as, “a Nigerian model for stakeholder capitalism.” Part-coming-of-age, part-familial drama, Áfàméfùnà follows the journey of a young Igbo man as he ascends from an apprentice to a business owner. Directed by Kayode Kasum, the film is deeply defined by Igbo culture and the business practices that have become indelibly tied to Igbo people.
South Africa’s 30 Years of Democracy Celebrated on Film
This list of 10 films, made after 1994, represents the multiple facets of post-apartheid life in South Africa. With the advent of democracy, South African cinema began a slow march to the future by unpacking the past and interrogating the present via motion pictures. Freedom might have arrived, but so did a conveyor belt of problems — economic disparity, poverty, crime, racial inequality, HIV/AIDS, and gender-based violence. As democratic ideals struggled to take footing, film was utilized as a medium to critique the state of the nation, while charting a course for what the future could look like.
Documentary Captures the African Student Experience in the U.S.
Inspired by his own experience, Arthur Musah, in Brief Tender Light, follows four young people who come from Nigeria, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Rwanda, studying at MIT. The film thrusts us into a world of young people who bear the weight of generations on their shoulders. Their stories mirror the challenges that come with the immigrant experience, providing a relatable look into what it means to be young and ambitious, but severely disadvantaged.
Morocco Through the Lens of Zineb Koutten
The up-and-coming photographer, Zineb Koutten, is carving out her own path in the Moroccan fashion industry, led by curiosity and steadfast intuition. As a North African woman photographer wearing the hijab, Koutten’s existence is a form of activism. She intentionally shows up to encourage people to not let society stop them from pursuing their dreams. “It happens a lot that society mixes tradition and religion,” she explains. “But it’s tradition and not religion that puts misconceptions in our head. I love my religion and it bothers me when people don’t educate themselves.”
Disney Unveils the Teaser Trailer for ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’
Set to premiere in cinemas later this year, the cast includes Kagiso Lediga, John Kani, Thandiwe Newton, and more, with Donald Glover and Beyoncé returning as Simba and Nala. Told in flashbacks, the story introduces Mufasa as an orphaned cub when he meets Taka, a lion prince and the heir to a royal bloodline. Taka accepts Mufasa into his family as a brother and their chance meeting kicks off an expansive journey, as they work together to reach their destiny while evading a threatening and deadly foe.
The 9 Best West African Songs Right Now
This month’s list features heavy metal from Togo, Afro-Latin jazz from Mali, and Ivorian drill.
The 13 Best North African Songs Right Now
From Tuareg and spiritual Sufi music, to rap, drill, amapiano, and Mahraganat, April was a good month for North African music. With several genre-bending albums and collaborations released, artists from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and Sudan showed up and went all out.
The 10 Best Southern African Songs Right Now
Botswana, South Africa, Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Zambia are well-represented in this list of ten songs that have been rousing riots across Southern Africa.
Five African Music Highlights at Coachella 2024
From Tems’ star-studded performance to Mdou Moctar’s electrifying guitar solos, these are the moments where African music shone during weekend one of Coachella.
Bringing the kora into the concert hall: Seckou Keita
The kora – sometimes known as the bridge harp – is a musical instrument from West Africa. Senegalese musician and composer Seckou Keita unites the instrument with a classical orchestra.
UN RELATED NEWS
UNHCR alerts as thousands of refugees displaced by heavy rainfall in Africa
Thousands of people, including refugees, have been displaced from their homes due to heavy rains in Central and East Africa, the UN refugee agency said. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) expressed concern for the thousands of refugees and other displaced individuals who have been forced to flee as their homes were washed away by the ongoing El Nino-triggered heavy rains and severe flooding in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Somalia and Tanzania. “Without help to prepare for, withstand and recover from climate-related shocks, they face an increased risk of further displacement,” the UNHCR said in a statement. According to the UNHCR, nearly 20,000 people in Dadaab refugee camps in northeastern Kenya, which host more than 380,000 refugees, have been displaced due to the rising water levels. Many of them are among those who arrived in the past couple of years after fleeing severe drought in neighboring Somalia. Some 4,000 people are currently sheltering in six schools with facilities that have been extensively damaged, the UNHCR said.
VIDEO OF THE DAY
Looking Back : The British invite African soldiers to parade in UK after WWII
PODCAST OF THE DAY
Sudan and a catastrophic war
While global attention has focussed on Ukraine and Gaza a vicious civil war grinds on with outside players becoming increasingly prominent and the people of Sudan paying an appallingly high price. Sudanese political analyst Kholood Khair joins Arab Digest editor William Law for a conversation about the war in Sudan.
AFRICA RELATED BOOKS & PUBLICATIONS
How to tell a bedtime story in South Africa
If you are a child under eight in South Africa, or the parent of a child under eight in South Africa, then Refiloe Moahloli is something of a rock star. She is the author of a series of beloved children’s books that have captured the imaginations of kids across the country, including How Many Ways Can You Say Hello, We Are One and, most recently, A Friend For All Seasons.
A brief note on African agency in its historical contacts with the rest of the world.
“The indigenous and the foreign in Benin art”
In African historiography, most studies of cultural contacts and discovery used to be concerned with the study of foreign perceptions of Africa and Africans, with relatively few studies being devoted to the African view of non-African people and societies, and how they evolved over time, especially during the era of mutual discovery beginning in the late 15th century.
AFRICA – ANALYSIS, EDITORIAL/OPINION
What African countries need to tap more from extended AGOA
In 64 years, how has (WBank’s) IDA reduced poverty in Africa?
US-Africa trade deal turns 25 next year: Agoa’s winners, losers and what should come next
African countries can’t resolve their debt crisis under a system rigged against them
Ethiopia
Ethiopia’s proposed Special Prosecutor: history repeating itself
The forthcoming Special Prosecutor’s Office must do better than the mechanism set up to deal with Dergue-era crimes.
Kenya
Kenya floods: as the costs add up pressure mounts on a country in economic crisis
Kenya is once again in FATF’s crosshairs
To curb money laundering, financial oversight of the real estate, legal, casino and transport sectors must be improved.
Mozambique
What Future for Military Intervention in Mozambique?
Nigeria
Nigeria’s minimum wage has never protected workers from poverty: here’s why
South Africa
South Africans are abandoning smallholder farming – history and policy can help explain why
Zuma’s MK Party has hit the campaign trail with provocative rhetoric and few clear policies
Sudan
Respect for sovereignty is holding back the peace process in Sudan
Uganda
Lest We Forget: Against 40 Years of Ugandan Neoliberalism
The Africa Edition ©️ 
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